The rain held out for us. After sitting in front of my laptop analyzing the week’s power data (rest weeks aren’t super interesting) and playing with my bike (adjusting derailleurs the night before the race is fun) I went to bed in Sherwood at Kennett’s parent’s house. A 45 minute drive in the morning got us to the parking lot with about an hour and a half until the morning starts. Today was Kennett’s first Pro 1/2 race, and he did rather well with a 9th place finish. Their average power was around 300, I hear (from Kennett and Quinn). Chris was in the break for almost 70 miles, but got caught. It’s just training for him. He’s a beast.
I felt alright in the Cat 4 field. It was much more driven today, with times when it was strung out single file for 15 riders in the front. The average speeds were pretty much the same, I think. I felt like I was at the edge a couple times, further reinforcing my inclination to sit in the Cat 4s for a while and learn. I made it without too much struggle with the finish group.
I threw my chain on lap 2. I got it back on. Not awesome.
With a couple miles to go, I got pushed across the centerline by some guy that was avoiding a stupid move. I’m pretty good with contact in general, and it turns out the other guy was too. Phew. I got back in with minimal fuss, but a little rattled.
The finish sucked. It was pretty fast and I got caught too far back and couldn’t find a line up. I got stuck behind the main group and had to sit up. It was frustrating to miss out on contesting the win just because I couldn’t set it up. That’s how it goes, though. It was another good race experience.
In-depth power file analysis sometime soon. I’ve got huge amount of schoolwork to do.
Next weekend is the beginning of the collegiate race season and my supposed fitness peak. We’ll see.
